Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
In the administration office of the Sorcerer Administrative Department.
Looking at Lucien across the desk, there was a funny smile on Eric’s face, that usually looked serious, “Evans, are you here to submit your new paper again?”
It was unbelievable how fast Lucien could develop a new paper. It had been just about a month since the last time he submitted the paper which had stirred the debate between the five grand arcanists. And now, here was Lucien again.
Most arcanists could never imagine producing high-quality papers in such a speed, and many arcana and magic researches often took years to be completed, while Lucien’s papers still managed to keep the standards high.
“Yes, Mr. Eric. It’s connected to my previous paper. I’ve finished explaining the formula from the perspective of arcana.” Lucien handed the paper to Eric and smiled.
Eric looked very surprised, “You’ve found the explanation? You mean explaining the formula that all of the five grand arcanists have failed to analyze from every single perspective?”
“That’s right,” answered Lucien straightforward.
Eric slightly opened his mouth but failed to speak any words. After several attempts, Eric said to Lucien, “You know… Your formula has been under heated discussion everywhere in the Congress. Even my friends who are outside of Allyn are also deeply concerned about it. However, no one has got any clues… It’s been bothering lots of people, including myself, so much that the formula which fits the data of black-body radiation so perfectly fails to match any existing theories or explanations. Maybe just like how the grand arcanists put it, we have to make some subversive assumptions to find the right path. And all of these only took you a month. You’re really the most outstanding genius among the younger arcanist generation.”
Eric also tried to explore the meaning behind the formula after reading Arcana, however, he failed just like most of the arcanists. And the formula became just a popular topic for most of them.
“I’m not the only one who’s found the direction. Another student of Mr. Fernando, Cole, has found the right path as well. I just finished the work earlier than him.”
Eric knew that Lucien and he were in the two totally different circles of arcanists. Eric’s serious-looking face now had a curious look on it and he asked, “So, Evans, have you really made a subversive assumption?”
“Of course. It’s very shocking, but it’s still an assumption, and currently, it cannot be proved.” Lucien purposefully emphasized.
Eric did not dig into Lucien’s answer as it was not polite to ask the author too much about the paper before the review result was available, although he knew that Lucien, as the student of the Lord of Storm, would not really mind it.
“Subversive… cannot be proved…” Eric murmured to himself. He put Lucien’s paper in the small cage and pulled the bell rope.
…
In the study of the magic tower.
The magic candles in front of Cole had burned to their ends. The morning light sneaked into the study and gradually drove away the darkness.
Without being affected, Cole stared at the piece of paper on the desk, frowning. He pondered why he was still unable to explain the formula even if he had adopted Lucien’s method. There must be something important missing.
Cole decided to start the work over again after recalling his conversation with Lucien.
…
On the fifteenth floor of the major magic tower of Allyn, in the hall of Arcana Review Board, the bells were ringing, and the complex magic circle started to glow with a white light. When the light disappeared, piles of documents appeared at the center of the magic circle. Long metal arms picked up the documents and a cold, mechanized voice read:
“Necromancy… To Ms. Tina-Timos, Mr. Haggard.”
“Element… To Mr. Overee, Ms. LockLynn.”
“Thermodynamics…” at this time, the mechanized voice paused and read the title out, “The Energy Distribution of Black Body Radiation…”
After a few seconds, the voice said, “To Mr. Cole, Ms. Sonya.”
Lucien’s paper was duplicated into three copies. One for the record and the other two were sent to two different magic circles…
…
In the study.
Using Lucien’s method, Cole’s calculation was fast. After a few hours, the formula gradually came into being.
To make the formula work, Cole knew that he had to make a hypothesis. Uncontrollably, Cole’s thin face was written with fear, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He could not help murmuring, “This… this goes against the classical equipartition of energy theorem!”
Equipartition theorem was another outstanding achievement from Cole, developed based on Mr. Brook’s theory. However, when Cole used his own newly-developed molecular movement theory and introduced the concept of probability and entropy into the formula, the conclusion went against the important premise of the equipartition theorem—the continuity of energy! Cole’s head buzzed as if he just got a slap on the face. He felt that his body and soul were divided into two parts, with an angel on one side and a devil on the other!
Cole all of a sudden could not see well. He shook his head fiercely and denied his conclusion.
“Impossible! It’s impossible! There must be other explanations!”
In his meditation world which had started to substantialize, the countless little black dots started to move around disorderedly like they were being boiled in water.
“There must be something wrong here!” Cole shouted at himself, trying his best to calm down a bit.
At this time, someone was knocking at the window. Cole was pulled back to reality and he hurriedly turned around. An alchemical servant made of gas was floating in the air holding several papers.
“Master, these are the papers that haven’t been reviewed. You want me to send them to your students?”
Cole wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead and said in a weak voice, “Let me take a look first.”
Taking over the papers, he saw the title which had been bothering him for several days—The Energy Distribution of Black-Body Radiation.
Cole did not expect that this was the very first paper he was going to review today.
Cole’s breath became faster. Nervously, with his shaking hands, he unwrapped the bag and pulled out the paper, which, not surprisingly, began with a familiar name: Lucien Evans X.
Scanning the paper from beginning to end, in one of the lines of the paper, he saw Lucien’s statement:
“To make the formula work, it must be assumed that the emission and absorption of energy are discontinuous, but in portions.”
Boom!
Cole was too afraid to give much thought to it, but now at this moment, Lucien’s conclusion on the paper became the only thing he could see in this world.
“…it must be assumed that the emission and absorption of energy are discontinuous, but in portions.” Cole, as if he was enchanted by the line of words, felt totally lost and he could not help shaking his head. To him, the line was like a curse from the demon.
In his cognitive world, the little black dots suddenly moved around fiercely like they were all crazy! The whole world had reached the ultimate disorder and fell into a complete chaos!
Bang!
Cole’s brain suddenly exploded! The pieces of paper, books, desk, and chair around Cole were covered in red and white…
…
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
Cole suddenly woke up. Both of his hands directly went to his head. Until Cole’s hands felt that his head was still there safe and sound, he looked around out of panic.
He was still in his study. In front of him was a pile of the manuscript written with messy words. All of them were the derivation of Lucien’s formula.
“Maybe I was too tired so I had such a horrible dream…” Cole was still haunted by the thought of that nightmare.
However, when Cole recalled how clear the calculation and derivation were in his dream, his hands started to tremble slightly again. When he picked up the manuscript again, he somehow felt more prepared for the final answer that he was subconsciously trying to avoid.
After a while, Cole said to himself in a low voice, “Do I really have to make the assumption? It’s just a hypothesis…”
At this time, the gas servant knocked at the window. Cole saw his gas servant drifted in exactly like what happened in his dream. Taking a deep breath, he took over the several papers. And within his expectation, he saw the paper titled, The Energy Distribution of Black-Body Radiation.
After sitting there still for almost half an hour, Cole pulled out the paper. Although he did not have to do this himself, as an arcanist, he could not help because of his curiosity. He wanted to see it with his own eyes.
“To make the formula work, it must be assumed that the emission and absorption of energy is discontinuous, but in portions.”
Cole closed his eyes and leaned against the back of the chair. Again, his cognitive world started to become messy and disorganized. But this time, it was far from being a chaos.
“It’s just an assumption… Still an assumption…” Cole’s voice became weak. His eyes, nose, mouth, and ears started to bleed.
Although he was prepared, the subversive answer still hurt his soul and had greatly shaken his meditation world.
“It’s still an assumption…”
Outside of the window, the Lord of Storm wearing the bright red magic robe released a long sigh and disappeared in the air with the crystal dragon, Alferris.
Among all of the senior-rank arcanists, the Lord of Storm worried about Cole the most. The analysis of the formula was based on one of Cole’s own theories, but it went against another. This was very dangerous to his cognition world.
After three hours, Cole started to feel less dizzy. Staring at the paper on the desk, he looked intimidated as if he was facing a terrible enemy.
He paused for a while, picked up the quill, and started to write down his comment.
